PM to leave for UN meet on Wednesday

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will leave for New York on Wednesday to attend the United Nations General Assembly session, where he will push for UN Security Council reforms to reflect current realities, officials said today.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will leave for New York on Wednesday to attend the United Nations General Assembly session, where he will push for UN Security Council reforms to reflect current realities, officials said on Tuesday.

The prime minister will also push for early adoption of a convention on terrorism that will provide a global framework to fight the menace, said government sources.

According to officials, external affairs minister SM Krishna, national security adviser Shivshankar Menon and foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai would accompany the prime minister, who will represent India at the high-level segment of the General Assembly on September 24 and deliver his address.

India, along with other members of the G-4 (Brazil, Japan and Germany), is expected to press reforms of the UNSC at the earliest.

The G4 members are keen on getting permanent membership of the UNSC.

Currently, India and Germany are non-permanent members of the Security Council.

India will also reaffirm its commitment to working with the UN on furthering global economic and fiscal stability and balanced growth, said sources.

No meeting between Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama is lined up during the visit, said the sources.

However, the Indian prime minister, who is attending the UNGA after a gap of two years, is likely to have meetings with others heads of state or government, officials said.